Canonical Releases Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin

The latest version of the popular free Linux operating system is aimed at providing additional stability and usability features to desktop and server enterprise users.

Canonical today announced the release of the latest edition of its popular free Linux distribution, Ubuntu: version 12.04.

Nicknamed "Precise Pangolin," after the scaled mammal found in southern Africa and southeast Asia, version 12.04 is based on the 3.0.2 Linux kernel, aimed primarily at enterprise users, and is the fourth long-term support (LTS) release for the operating system, with maintenance updates guaranteed for five years.

The desktop version of the software is the first LTS release to be equipped with the Unity user interface, which was designed to simplify the Linux experience across desktops, laptops, and netbook-style computers alike. One addition to Unity is a new head-up display, which presents you with a list of potentially useful commands when you start typing (much like the search system in Windows Vista and Windows 7). Of particular interest to business users will be support for features such as desktop virtualization (from Citrix, VMware, and Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol).

The Server version of 12.04 includes OpenStack, for deploying a private cloud, and introduces Metal as a Service (MAAS), for bringing "the flexibility of cloud computing to physical server provisioning" (per a Canonical press release) to complex infrastructure projects in which Ubuntu is already a prominent fixture. Also present is an updated version of the Juju service orchestration tool, and support for the newest Intel-based servers. Ubuntu will be certified and supported on select HP ProLiant servers, as well.

Other technical and stability improvements have been made to this release of the OS, the first since version 11.10 ("Oneiric Ocelot") in October 2011. The next release, 12.10 ("Quantal Quetzal") is slated to arrive in October of this year, following Canonical's typical six-month release schedule.

The desktop and client versions of Ubuntu 12.04 may be downloaded now from Ubuntu.com.

Matthew Murray got his humble start leading a technology-sensitive life in elementary school, where he struggled to satisfy his ravenous hunger for computers, computer games, and writing book reports in Integer BASIC. He earned his B.A. in Dramatic Writing at Western Washington University, where he also minored in Web design and German. He has been building computers for himself and others for more than 20 years, and he spent several years working in IT and helpdesk capacities before escaping into the far more exciting world...
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